Fasces

fasces (făs`ēz) [Lat.,=bundles], ancient Roman symbol of the regal and later the magisterial authority. The fasces were cylindrical bundles of wooden rods, tied tightly together, from which an axe projected; they were borne by guards, called lictors, before praetors, consuls, proconsuls, dictators, and emperors. The fasces, which symbolize unity as well as power, have often been used as emblems, e.g., on the arms of the French republic and on American coins. Italian Fascism derived its name and its emblem from the fasces.

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fasces

A symbol of Roman authority consisting of a bundle of rods with an ax blade projecting from them.

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fasces

rods bundled about ax; emblem of magistrates, Fascists. [Rom. Hist.: Hall, 119; Ital. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 399]

See : Authority

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Fasces

in ancient Rome, a bundle of rods strapped together, from which a small ax protruded. The fasces was a symbol of imperial authority; later it came to symbolize the authority of high magistrates and was carried by attending lictors. The Italian Fascists adopted the fasces as their emblem.